R.I.P., DJ Barb Wire

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of a long time friend and fellow WLUW DJ, Barb Wire.

Barb was perhaps best known for her ecclectic but impeccable taste in music, as demonstrated on numerous graveyard shifts and on her own weekly show, "Across the Pond and Beyond." I'll remember her as a generous and caring individual, always willing to lend a hand or cover a shift. Sometimes, totally unbidden, she'd burn you a CD of music she thought you might like. She was fiercely dedicated to the the music and the message of the station throughout the course of her long illness, and right up until the very end.

The airwaves will be poorer for your absence, Barb. You will be missed.

Video Friday:Pride Turns 40!

Well, sort of. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Starting the evening of June 28, 1969 and lasting for three days, young gays and drag queens rioted outside of the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York City's Greenwhich Village. The riot began following a police raid on the bar, which was patronized by gay men and drag queens. The raid was under the guise of busting the club for having alchohol without a liquor license (the club was a "bottle club", run by the Mob, which had no liquor license and required that patrons sign in at the door), but police had been raiding and abusing gay bars and their patrons for years. Historians of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement frequently discuss the gay rights movement in terms of "Before Stonewall" and "After Stonewall" (and there are two documentaries by those names) because it was such a crucial event. Following the riots, gay activist groups sprung up around the nation, and a year later the first offical pride parade took place in New York.

It is often cited that Judy Garland's death and funeral, which happened a few days prior to the raids, fueled the patrons at the Stonewall Inn to fight back against the police. While historians will argue that the patrons at Stonewall were not the "Garland" kind of crowd due to their youth and lower class status, registries from the bar that show that many of them signed in to the bar using Judy Garland as a pseudonym prove otherwise.

In a year that had both incredible defeat and victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, we have much to celebrate - and much more work to do. Happy Pride 2009!

Video Fridays/Bands You Should Know: The Mo-Dettes

Since we're on the subject of the founding mothers of punk...

The Mo-Dettes were formed in London in 1979 by American guitarist Kate Korus/Korris (an original member of the Slits), along with bassist Jane Crockford, June Miles-Kingston on drums, and Swiss-born Ramona Carlier on vocals. The band would later be augmented by Melissa Ritter on second guitar, and for the last six months before the band's dissolution, Sue Slack on vocals.

(Inconsequential, but interesting: like the Slits, the Mo-Dettes were oddly connected to the Sex Pistols. June worked on the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, which is where she met Kate. June's brother Bob Kingston was the guitar player for Ten Pole Tudor, featured on the soundtrack for the film. Jane had reportedly shared a squat with Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious at one point, and June bought her first drum kit from Paul Cook. We won't mention their connection to other notable names in punk, but look up Shane MacGowan and the "Cannibalism at Clash Gig" incident and see if you can't spot our girls.)

Frequently overlooked in the annals of punk/post-punk and the history of women in rock for bands that were more ostentatious, more aggressive, more overt in their feminism, or simply more prolific, the Mo-Dettes were nevertheless a solid band, notable for their hooky, melodic bass lines, sparse, angular guitar riffs, and a simple yet irresistable backbeat.

In their three short years of existence, they released only a handful of singles and one full-length album, The Story So Far. Fortunately, Cherry Red released a remastered version of the album on CD last year. It includes B-sides and non-album tracks, such as their first single and possibly best known song, "White Mice," (featured below) as well as extensive liner notes outlining the history of the band.

Enjoy!

Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosed with Exene Cervenka

By now you may have heard that the legendary rock chick and bad ass, Exene Cervenka, has been diagnosed with MS, a debilitating disease that she's already backtalking in press releases... yep, that's our Exene. We really like the story up at Gapers Block by Jeremy Henderson, where he posits that perhaps MS has more to fear from Ms. Cervenka than she does from the disease! Coincidentally, X starts a three night run here in Chicago at Double Door tonight. Tickets are still available but no doubt will go fast.

Here's one of my favorite videos of X...

Holy Slits!

The Slits have a new album coming out!

Slated to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the group's legendary album Cut, Trapped Animal will be released on Narnack Records this fall. We can expect to hear the first single, "Ask Ma," as early as August.

After breaking up in 1982, original singer Ari Up and bassist Tessa Pollitt reformed in 2005 (sans guitarist Viv Albertine, or original drummer Palmolive) for a few one-off reunion shows and an EP, Revenge of the Killer Slits. In this latest incarnation, Up and Pollitt are joined by Anna Schlute on drums, Adele Wilson (or Michelle Hill, reports differ) on guitar, and Hollie Cook (daughter of Sex Pistols* drummer Paul Cook) on keyboards. Hopefully a full tour will be in the works as well? We'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's a video of one of my favorite Slits' songs, "Typical Girls," from 1979.




* Bizarre factoid for the day? John Lydon is Ari Up's stepfather. No foolin'!

Fallen Princesses

From Fallen Princesses, a photography project by Dina Goldstein:

In the artist's own words: "These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.... I explored the original brothers Grimm's stories and found that they have very dark and sometimes gruesome aspects, many of which were changed by Disney. I began to imagine Disney's perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues."

While I do question the inclusion of a rubenesque Red Riding Hood as a "fallen" princess (Goldstein claims it to be a "personal comment on today's fast food society," but I smell mixed messages about beauty and body-image for women*), I am nevertheless intrigued by her work. It reminds me a lot of Dulce Pinzon's The Real Story of the Superheroes series, which examines the everyday heroism of Mexican immigrant workers in New York.

I'm not knocking fairy tales, but for better or for worse, they've had an undeniable effect on the construction of gender and gender roles. (Although if you ask me, there's a lot of "worse"... the perpetuation of the "damsel in distress" stereotype, the necessity of a Prince Charming to save, redeem, and/or complete a princess's life, the emphasis placed on beauty as a woman's most important asset, the negative portrayal of older women as crone/evil stepmother/wicked witch, etc.) Either way, anything that takes a closer and more critical look at the cultural mythology we're passing on to our kids is a-ok in my book.



*To make up for it, I give you the brilliant and oddly empowering Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog.

Of course, you'll have to take them off to play guitar.

Be still my beating heart! Heart finger puppets!

Or perhaps Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash are more your speed? Maybe you want to see the White Stripes rendered in felt? If so, Etsy-er Mullish Muse is the girl for all your rock and roll finger puppet fantasies.

Video Fridays: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

A classic from Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Up Above My Head."

Dag! Check out that guitar solo!



(Fun side note? A clip of this performance can be seen in the film Amelie.)

Theresa Andersson, Go!

Anyone else catch Theresa Andersson on the Craig Ferguson show last night?



Originally hailing from Sweden, multi-instrumentalist Andersson moved to New Orleans in 1990. While she cites New Orleans as having a big influence on her sound, it wasn't until she saw a one-man puppet show in Chicago that she was inspired to perform as a one-woman band. She builds layers of sound through the use of looping effects pedals, which capture snippets of sound and play them back in an infinite loop.

Her latest recording, Hummingbird, Go!, was released last fall on Basin Street Records. More information, along with tour dates and links to her Facebook page, can be found at her webpage. You can check out more videos here.

Le Tigre BACK! With Christina Aguilera...?

I know this sounds like the punchline to a hilarious riot grrl joke*, but it's actually true! Not only is Le Tigre off of their "hiatus", as hinted this spring in a blog post from Kathleen Hannah, they are working with Christina Aguilera on her new album. I can't imagine what a Le Tigre-Christina Aguilera collaboration will sound like, but Christina has also tapped Goldfrapp and Ladytron to assist with this album, so it is a safe bet that its going to be one hell of a party record. I'm more interested in the rumored DVD documentary of Le Tigre that the band has been workin on, as well as any possiblity of a new album. Perhaps Christina will inspire them... or maybe this outfit from her last Rolling Stone cover will? C'mon Le Tigre, we need some economic stimulus, and a new album would sell like hotcakes - do it for America!

* Actual hilarious feminist joke -  Q:  "How many radical feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb?"
A:  "The collective will discuss it and get back to you within a month with their consensus,
unless the self-criticism session takes longer or someone
unexpectedly hitch-hikes to San Francisco."

Sita Sings the Blues

Breaking up, as the song goes, is hard to do. Some people find solace in the music and literature of those who have come before, others exorcise anger through their own art and writing. Nina Paley, the filmmaker behind the brilliant Sita Sings the Blues, did both.

Sita Sings the Blues is a modern retelling of the Ramayana, a classic epic poem from India. Paley focuses primarily on the relationship between Prince Rama and his wife Sita, and tells it from a distinctly feminine perspective. The film relates Sita's devotion to her husband, his doubts regarding her purity after she is kidnapped by a rival, and the anguish this rejection causes her. Sita, however, is given a contemporary (and dare we say, feminist?) twist by Paley's use of a soundtrack by American torch singer Annette Hanshaw. The narration, provided by a chatty trio of traditional Indian shadow puppets, further serves to both modernize and humanize the characters of this ancient text. Woven throughout and supported by Sita's tale is Paley's own story of a distant spouse and a doomed relationship, bringing the Ramayana fully up to date for today's audience.

Oh, and did I mention that the entire film is animated? Gorgeously, lushly, intricately, animated?

Unfortunately, upon completion of the film, Paley ran into copyright issues with the Annette Hanshaw recordings. The songs were public domain when Paley started work on the film, but apparently the composition of those songs, as well as the lyrics themselves, are still protected by copyright. (Since the main character is drawn singing the songs, the film was found to be in violation.) After much deliberation and negotiation with the copyright holders, Paley borrowed $50,000 to license the rights and decriminalize the songs for use in the film. She has since released Sita Sings the Blues under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, and is distributing freely through the Sita website.

For more information, as well as links to download the film, please visit sitasingstheblues.com. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer:

Free St. Vincent Tickets - Millenium Park TONIGHT

We just found out from Metro's Twitter feed that there's some wristbands for reserved seating for tonight's show with St. Vincent at Millennium Park. We spoke last week about how much we love St. Vincent, so if you're free tonight, follow the instructions from the tweet -

@MetroChicago FREE wristbands for @St_Vincent at Mil Pk 2night. Stop by Metro b4 5pm, 1st come 1st served, limit 4, show @ 6pm sharp.

FYI, Metro is located at 3730 North Clark Street. Go get your tickets now!

Video Fridays: Queen of the Blues

"Wang Dang Doodle" was Koko Taylor's first hit on Chess Records in 1966. Check out this live version from 1967, featuring Little Walter on harmonica.

She Was A Woman - R.I.P. Koko Taylor

Sad news tonight as we learn that Chicagoan and Queen of the Blues Koko Taylor has died at the age of 80 from complications from a gastrointestial surgery. The daughter of Tennessee sharecroppers who both died before she was 11 years old, Taylor was entranced by gospel music at church, as well as blues DJs on her radio at a young age. She and her five brothers and sisters made homemade instruments and starting singing the blues. After she was married, Koko and her husband traveled to Chicago where he found work at a packing company and she cleaned houses. The young couple would often visit the blues clubs on Chicago's south side, and her husband "Pops" Taylor encouraged Koko to sit in with the musicians. There, she was discovered by Willie Dixon, who was intrigued by her voice and eager to have a woman be a blues band leader. He landed her a contract with the famous Chess Records in Chicago, where she released many Grammy nominated albums, including the hits "Wang Dang Doodle" and "I'm A Woman". Taylor traveled the world, becoming the first high profile woman to sing the blues, and earning her nickname of "Queen of the Blues". After Chess Records went out of business, Koko moved to another Chicago label, Alligator Records, where she enjoyed continued success. Her many awards from the city of Chicago as well as national and international music organizations included the Blues Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. Even at age 80, Koko was still going strong. She was scheduled to perform in Spain next week, and recently performed at The Kennedy Honors in Washington DC in honor of Morgan Freeman. She sang "I'm A Woman" for that appearance, and was she ever. Go in peace Koko... Chicago thanks you, for everything.

St. Vincent - Neither A Saint, Nor Named Vincent, Just Great Music

My favorite album of the spring is Actor, by St. Vincent, a new-ish musical group that I just happened to come across about a month ago. St. Vincent is actually the stage name for Annie Clark, a sometimes member of the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Steven's touring band. She released her debut album in 2007, Marry Me, to fairly rave reviews from critics as diverse as Pitchfork and the New York Times. Now, as she returns with Actor, her star continues to shine. With, one assumes, influences from touring pals Sufjan and the Polyphonic Spree, as well as the darker sounds of her own imagination, St. Vincent is back with another winner. After playing her album several times through on a recent road trip, I've concluded that this is an artist who has true songwriting diversity, and staying power... her songs are sometimes light and airy, boardering on Spree-like uplifting sounds, while others are weirder, orchestral, cinematic. Simply put, this lady can write a song, not to mention sing them, and if she keeps it up, this is just the beginning. St. Vincent will play an all ages show this Sunday, June 6 at Metro, so if you want to see the woman behind the music, don't miss it!